4 Things to Help Stay-at-Home Moms Decide Whether to Return to Work

After years of staying at home with infants, toddlers and preschoolers, the day finally comes when all the kids are in school and stay-at-home moms find themselves with a quiet house. It's almost inevitable at that point that stay-at-home mothers will begin to wonder if they should go back to work. Whether it's a question raised between spouses, or if it's something that just mom is considering, it's a big decision.

Money will be the biggest factor of the decision to go back to work. Most likely, if you've stayed home for many years and have been living on one income, you can probably continue to do so. You've probably learned to manage your budget and know your spending limits. However, if you have a large amount of debt to pay, or if the one income is uncomfortably tight, or if you're hoping to substantially increase your savings, returning to work is probably a good idea. But there are still several things that you need to keep in mind:

Housework and children are ever-present. Just because all the kids are in school for eight hours a day does not mean that you have eight hours of spare time. When you stayed at home with your kids, you spent a fair amount of your time cleaning, cooking, running errands, and chauffeuring kids to activities. You'll still be doing the housework when your kids are gone, you'll still be cooking the meals, and you'll still have to run kids to practices and school.

The stress level of working moms can be difficult. If you're suddenly working full-time and trying to keep a household and family in order, you may find you have too much on your plate. Some moms manage well with work and family; others find it draining. Think about your life as a stay-at-home mom. If you were the type of mom who volunteered ten hours at the local Red Cross, was president of the local MOPS group, took your kids to fun places every day, and still found time to prepare healthy meals, returning to work will probably not be much of an adjustment. If, on the other hand, you were the type of mom who mostly stayed at home every day, with just a couple outings a week, going back to work will be hard.